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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. current — electric
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. current — of water
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. wound — an injury
  7. foot — a measure
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. root — of a plant
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. root — of a word
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. root — the cause
  19. capital — money
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. current — happening now
  22. capital — a city
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. fork — in a road

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com